Share it?

Officials of the board have revealed that 430,000 yen a month was paid by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to education board members who were absent for two or more meetings in 2010.

The Office of Education says the payment is in accordance with the metropolitan ordinance which actually does not provide cuts for those who may have been absent from the meetings. The chief of the Office of Education further said the board members are being paid for their primary duties of attending meetings and reading relevant materials prior to meetings as well as other duties which may be required as members of the board.

An officer of the Tokyo Citizens Ombudsmen commented that the remuneration for those who skipped meetings is a waste of money and that there is a need to review the system.

Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education meets once or twice a month with agenda concerning education administration and punitive measures for workers including misconduct among schoolteachers.

Members who incurred two or more absences from the meetings in 2010 are Setsuzo Kosaka, former managing director of major trading house Itochu Corp.; former Tokyo Vice Gov. Yutaka Takehana; Former marathon runner Toshihiko Seko; and writer Makiko Uchidate. The chairman of the board, Tokyo Institute of Technology professor emeritus Tsutomu Kimura also missed two meetings.

Most of the members who had skipped the meetings were able to justify receipt of their remuneration.
In stark contrast to the monthly remuneration of the Tokyo education board, counterparts in other prefectures including Kanagawa Prefectural Government, Osaka Municipal Government , Shizuoka Prefecture, the Shizuoka Prefecture city of Hamamatsu and the Kanagawa Prefecture city of Sagamihara have all shifted to day-rate system to generate significant cuts in expenses.

The revelation may propel a review of the remuneration system in the Tokyo education board considering that education boards in other areas have now switched to daily payment.